By Zephyria 
It was a humid summer outside after a long time. The sun was high in the sky, and the scorching heat was palpable.
“Where is this?”
It was a completely different place from when Aska first went to the Boundary. The only similarity was the presence of trees, and not even birch trees at that.
“I remembered how to go back and forth, but I don’t know how to control the direction.”
“Well, we can just go back slowly. Think of it as a trip. But didn’t you say that the flow of time is different between the Boundary and here? How much time has passed?”
“Let’s find a village first…”
Aska, who was about to speak while holding my hand, paused. Suddenly, he heard a presence and turned his head to see a small head popping out of a bush.
“…”
“…”
I didn’t know where this place was, so I should have been on guard, but I didn’t feel like it. That was because the person who appeared was a young boy who looked to be only seven or eight years old.
Then, the boy pointed at us with his small hand and said something. But I had never heard the foreign language before, so I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Judging by the tone, it seemed to be a language from around the Northern Continent, and if that was the case, it might take a very long time to return. The distance wasn’t just far, but even if we took a ship, it would probably take months…
“Why are foreigners here?”
The boy asked again with a grimy face. Strangely enough, I could suddenly understand the words, even though it was a language I had never learned.
I looked at Aska with a puzzled expression.
“It seems to be near Galak in the Northern Continent.”
“What’s Galak?”
“A sacred lake where dragons used to live. They took care of the villagers for 1000 years and then became gods.”
The more I heard, the more puzzled I became.
“Have you ever been here?”
“No, I just remembered it. I guess I used to live here.”
Ah, is that why I could suddenly understand the language? It wasn’t like a dreamlike scene that had popped up like before, so it felt strange. It was like I had never experienced it, but the information was stored in my brain.
“Is there a place to rest nearby? A village or something.”
I asked the child, who was looking at me with curious eyes, as kindly as possible. I was worried that he might reject us because we were foreigners, but the child was more friendly than I thought.
“Follow me. This is the top of the mountain, so we have to go down a long way. How did you get up here?”
“We got lost.”
“If you’re so bad at directions that you get lost and climb to the top of a mountain, don’t come to the mountains.”
I awkwardly laughed at the child’s sharp advice. The child walked ahead and then turned his head to look at Aska. Meanwhile, Aska, who was wearing a hood, sensed his gaze and asked the child.
“What’s your name?”
“Ran. Did you come to see your grandma or grandpa?”
I tilted my head at the questioning words with a puzzled expression.
I couldn’t understand the context in which the words grandma and grandpa came up. Ran skillfully stepped on the flat ground here and there and said.
“Didn’t you live here when you were little and come back after a long time? Your accent is so similar to my grandma’s.”
The words came out on their own, but was it still a bit awkward?
“Your dialect is really strong. Honestly, it’s even stronger than my grandma’s. At first, I was a little scared because you were foreigners, but after listening to you talk, I knew right away. Are you mixed?”
I’m not mixed.
I glanced at Aska. It seemed better to stay quiet than to deny it and arouse suspicion.
“What year is it now?”
Ran’s eyes narrowed at Aska’s question.
“Are you a dragon by any chance? I heard that when a dragon wakes up after sleeping for a long time, they ask the first human they meet that kind of question.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“Who says that?”
“I saw it in a book. It said that’s a common question.”
“So, what year is it? Solar calendar.”
“Gunwi 29… Huh? Solar calendar?”
Ran’s expression became suspicious again. However, the innocent child diligently answered even while being suspicious.
“The solar calendar is… probably 1008… or 1009. Did you come from the Central Continent?”
It was 1003 before we left, so it’s been about 5 or 6 years. I was suddenly worried that decades or hundreds of years might have passed, but thankfully it wasn’t.
5 years is a long time, but not long enough for someone to die and disappear.
We arrived at a small village while having various conversations with Ran. The unfamiliar building style made me realize that we were in the Northern Continent. The villagers, who were wary of us at first, quickly relaxed after a few words.
“Should we look for a ship? Or use teleportation magic.”
We got a room at an inn in the village and filled our stomachs with unfamiliar food. The taste was unique, but it became okay as we ate it.
“Magic…”
It didn’t matter whether we took a ship or used magic. But Aska seemed hesitant, so I tilted my head.
“Why?”
“The distance is too far, so teleportation magic won’t work.”
“Then we can just take a ship. Why do you look like that?”
Aska put down the spoon he was holding. Then, he suddenly looked at me with a serious expression. I suddenly became uneasy, but I didn’t show it and asked again.
“Why? Do you have something to say?”
“I’ve been thinking.”
“Thinking about what? When?”
Aska closed his mouth at my urgent question. He hesitated for a long time and then said.
“I’m not going to look for my memories.”
“Your memories?”
“So, I’m not going to look for the needle either.”
I naturally thought that finding Aska’s memories was our ultimate goal. But plans can be changed at any time. It didn’t matter whether we found the memories or not, but I was curious as to why Aska’s mind had suddenly changed.
“Did you have a bad dream while sleeping?”
Aska shook his head at my cautious question.
“It’s not like that. I’ve just been thinking about it for a while. You need the first needle to mend the pale time. From the book I saw at grandma’s house. Remember?”
I nodded.
“That’s the last ritual Ophelia talked about. Finding my memories and incorporating me into that cycle at the same time.”
Would Aska’s memories then last forever? In the next life, and the next life after that. The memories that we had recalled while watching from a step away like a play were, in fact, Aska’s past lives.
Aska turned his head and looked out the window. The sky was turning orange as the sun was setting.
“If I find my memories, can I call that me?”
I slowly opened and closed my eyes at the words he muttered like a soliloquy. That was something I had been worried about too.
“Isn’t it possible that I’m not regaining my memories, but actually dying?”
His eyes looked depressed, so I reached out and brushed Aska’s hair back.
“Then don’t look for them. Whether you find your memories or not, it’s up to you.”It wasn’t a difficult problem to think about.” But Aska’s expression was still sullen.
“I don’t know if it’s okay not to look for them. What if there are side effects if I do that? If something happens to me, it’s not just me who dies.”
Only then did I realize Aska’s real concern. I was currently in a state where I couldn’t survive on my own. Wasn’t I in a situation where I could die even if Aska fell into a deep sleep?
“And the reason I was born was to repair the torn curtain, but if I don’t…”
“The world might end?”
Aska nodded at my question.
“But Ophelia said that the world is already being destroyed even if that’s not the case. You had a child in the past… in a past life… no, an ancestor…”
Aska tilted his head as I rambled.
“What are you talking about?”
“No, it’s weird to say that you had a child. Even if it’s a past life. It’s better to just say ancestor.”
“Not an ancestor either.”
“Anyway. Anyway, she said that the small rule is already broken and the world is being destroyed, so even if something goes wrong, it’s not your fault.”
Then someone knocked on the door. Aska put on his hood and opened the door, and there was a girl with long hair braided on both sides.
“They said to come down and pay first since it’s prepaid.”
Is she the daughter of this house? The child said that, bowed at a right angle, and quickly went down the stairs. Come to think of it, I had completely forgotten to pay.
The currency must be different too.
“I’ll go pay.Aska was about to leave the room without hesitation. I also got up from my seat and asked.
“Do you have money?”
“I have some jewels, so I’ll use those.”
I followed Aska.
“While we’re down there, should we go see it? The lake you mentioned earlier. Galak or whatever. The place where the dragon lived.”
I impulsively asked, remembering that Aska had said he wanted to see various things.
“Now? It’ll be sunset soon.”
“So what? The lake will be pretty at night too.”
Wouldn’t Aska’s mood improve if he saw something new? I looked around while thinking that, and I saw something familiar.
“You’re paying with jewels?”
“I’m staying for a few days, so please handle all the expenses with this.”
“Is it real? Not fake jewels?”
I moved as if possessed, leaving Aska, who was talking to the innkeeper. I didn’t know when I first arrived in the village because I was out of my mind, but every house had the same thing in their yard.
“Hyung!”
It was a stone tower made of small and large stones.
“What are you doing here?”
Ran, who had come to my side, asked while looking at me. But when did I become his hyung? I was momentarily flustered, but when I saw his innocent eyes, I thought, “Who cares?”
“Why does that person keep covering their face? They’re really pretty.”
Ran pointed at Aska, who was inside the inn, and asked. I chuckled and asked.
“Pretty?”
“Yes. They’re pretty, so why do they keep covering up?”
“Because they’re pretty.”
Ran tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. I pointed at the stone tower nearby and asked.
“But what is that?”
“Which one?”
“That stone tower. Is it like a symbol of this village?”
I was curious because every yard had one. Come to think of it, there was a small stone tower next to the inn as well. The sizes were different, but the way they placed the largest stone in the center was the same.
Aska had also made those towers here and there when he was in Talim. He made them in the Greenhouse, next to the trees on the way, and even in the cave where he had been when he went crazy in the underground Ruins.
“Ah, that’s an ward off evil spirits tower. It’s just like a superstition, but if you do that, it blocks bad energy and protects the peace of the family. We have one at our house too.”